Teachings by Dharma Master Cheng Yen
Translated by Dharma as Water Development Department, Tzu Chi USA

Education is the hope of humanity and of society. Social order depends  on education; the hope of families rests on education too. Parents  hope their children receive a good education and aspire for them to become contributing members of society. However, life is brief and  ever-changing; in one word, it is “impermanent.” We cannot always  have things turn out according to our wishes. Perhaps time is not  sufficient for us to wait; even if there is hope, circumstances may not  unfold as we desire. In short, our envisioned life undergoes all sorts of  changes, and we cannot have everything as we wish. 

I often say, “In this lifetime, I have no conflict with people, no conflict  with matters, and no conflict with the world.” However, I do demand  sincerity from myself: sincere effort and giving without expectations.  I am now elderly and encounter many things that do not go as I wish.  Even my speech is not as I would like. I wanted to have a resounding  voice, a voice that people would love to listen to, but speaking is now  difficult for me. It may not be comfortable for people to hear, and the  sound may not enter people’s hearts as I would hope. However, I am  sincere—I exert myself sincerely and willingly. 

Life in the human realm is very short, and sentient beings are difficult  to teach. Learning to be a good person alone is challenging. As  such, education requires teachers. A teacher’s heart must be like a  Bodhisattva’s heart, with selfless love and Bodhisattva-wisdom. We  must nurture talent everywhere and care for all children of the world,  educating those who will become pillars of human society. 

From childhood, we must teach children proper conduct—how to sit  and walk properly, how to hold a bowl and use chopsticks correctly.  Even these are not easy. From elementary school, middle school, to  university—which level of education is effortless? University students  would say middle school is easier; middle school students would say it  is elementary school. If elementary school is taught well, students will  have discipline by the time they reach middle school. Yet each level  points to the one below. 

Education is complex, and interaction with children is no small feat.  To seek growth from the roots up, we must also cultivate teachers  for kindergartens and elementary schools through a university-level  foundation. In all this, Tzu Chi works to educate teachers who truly  know how to educate. 

Education encompasses all of society. In today’s turbulent world,  the responsibility rests with education. Where does education’s  responsibility lie? In people. Teachers are people; students and parents  are people too. I feel this responsibility is tremendous because I  have deep ties to education. How we teach and what we emphasize  depends entirely on us. We hope teachers will treat students as their  own children—with your ideals and your child, how will you guide them  to live a life of value in the world? If we can do this, every teacher will  have great value and be a Bodhisattva. 

I often speak of having gratitude that students listen to their teachers.  I am grateful that teachers teach without discrimination, adapting to  each student’s capacity, enabling children to receive education. I am  also grateful that parents support and work in harmony with teachers,  so students come to respect teachers and honor the path. Education  cannot exist without people; it requires everyone to work in concert  with unity, harmony, and love. The entire society needs education; we  cannot be without knowledge, understanding and acceptance. 

I have always emphasized that those in the field of education  must possess a teacher’s qualities—purity and self-respect, a neat  appearance, and exemplary conduct. When students witness their  teacher’s dignified bearing, they will respect the discipline the teacher  teaches. To respect teachers is to follow the Way. The saying goes,  “The Way is a path.” Teachers guide students to walk properly, to walk  the path of life. When students are willing to “follow,” following the  Way that teachers teach, they will naturally “adhere to the right path.” 

I often recall an incident from the past. When I first became a monastic,  I stayed at Ci Shan Temple in Hualien. Behind the temple was a railroad.  One morning, I was washing clothes in the backyard when a young  girl was preparing for school. As she walked out the temple gate, she  suddenly cried out loudly, “Look! The teacher told us not to walk on  the railroad track, but she is walking on it herself!” 

Is this exemplary conduct? It is not only unlawful, but also a failure to  follow the way of a teacher. Education exists in daily life and in role  modeling. When a teacher tells a child, “You must walk this path,”  the teacher must adhere to that teaching themselves. By setting an  example before children, children will then “adhere to the Way” and  walk the correct path. 

We must see the Way and practice the Way. The Buddha-Dharma is  my daily life. “Gratitude, respect, and love” must be manifested in  my conduct. If I do not manifest these, asking others to be grateful,  respectful, and loving would be unreasonable. 

In exemplary education through daily living, we must especially be  cautious when in solitude. Does our state of mind deviate in any way?  Are our appearance and actions orderly? There is a saying that, “A  noble person is cautious when alone.” Even when alone, we must all  the more maintain proper conduct. This is what it means to practice  the rules in daily life. Although it is difficult and constraining, once we  form the habit, it becomes our daily life—it becomes our fundamental  duty.